


Your Nightmares Have Been Getting Worse Lately

by Joysplosion



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Kingdom Hearts (Video Games), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Baking, Dreamcatchers - Freeform, Dreams and Nightmares, Slice of Life, Traveling through Dreams, Villains to Heroes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:34:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24989899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joysplosion/pseuds/Joysplosion
Summary: Your nightmares have been getting worse lately.You’re not even sure why they have even begun to manifest. A bad omen maybe?Whatever the case may be, your grandma has brought you a dream catcher. Just so she wouldn’t berate you on her next visit, you hung it up in your room.Now you’re not sure if your dreams have been getting worse or better.
Kudos: 2





	Your Nightmares Have Been Getting Worse Lately

**Author's Note:**

> Very, very loosely based on the Markiplier fan game Hearts and Heroes.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grandma gifts you a dreamcatcher. A rather cute one, at that.   
> However, you're not as superstitious as she is. You still think going to a sleep clinic would benefit you better.

You weren’t sure how this would help. Sure, it would look nice hanging from your window, but it was a decoration at best.  
“Grandma, I don’t know about this...” you trailed off, gazing at the feathered piece. “I mean, they’re just nightmares. I could just go to a sleep clinic.” You tried to explain this to her several times.  
They’re just figments of my imagination, you would tell yourself. Despite never really remembering what was in them, they left an impression of fear.

“Nonsense!” She chuckled, slapping your back with a surprisingly strong hand. Your grandma was never a laid-back kind of lady. She had no chill, if her seven variations of ‘Eat my Ass’ sweaters was any indication. She was still working at a hospital as a nurse, and would often call you to tell you stories of the unfortunate patient of the day.  
Today a kid came in to get a cast. That sort of thing was relatively normal, except for the fact that he swore his injury was caused by an angry ghost. Of course, your grandma took care of that case. She took care of all cases like that one, not with casts, but with those claiming they saw something of the supernatural. It still bugged you that the hospital considered the sweet old lady the nut of the staff.

-

After you recovered from her friendly little back-slap, she continued. "Your nightmares may drive you crazy by the point you actually manage to get an appointment in!" It was true, the sleep clinic downtown was the only one for miles, and there were plenty of people living in the city. You avoided her gaze, looking out the window and towards your garden.  
"True... but I still think it might be better to get a professional opinion."

"I am a professional!"

"Yeah, a _doctor_."

She scoffed, shifting her gaze towards your garden as well. "Sleep clinic staff _are_ doctors, Sketch."

_

Everyone called you Sketch. This was because you always carried a small sketchbook around to draw the people you meet. You didn't want to forget anybody's features, so you drew people you thought you may see every day. This hadn't started until two years ago, when you were still in middle school. Of course, you started drawing those you considered family, and your grandma was the first page in the first sketchbook. You were on your third sketchbook now.  
You weren't sure when the desire to draw had started. You just knew that it came from a frustration from not being able to put names to faces. Indeed, it was something that you were completely awful at. It was one of the reasons kids kept bullying you.

-

"...Thank you, anyway, for the dreamcatcher." It really was quite pretty, and your grandma must have known that, because she gave another chuckle and slap on the back.

"I knew you'd like it! See, it's _just_ your style!

"Yeah, yeah, Meemaw." She was either Grandma or Meemaw to you, you alternated between these two titles. You smiled a little, making eye contact with her. "So, you brought your famous berry pie?"  
She shared a smirk with you.

"Never thought you'd ask. Come, it's downstairs!" You wondered how the old lady managed to have more energy than you did as she quickly made her way towards the staircase. "Last one there's the rotten egg!"  
You chuckled and shook your head, chasing after her. "I'm _always_ the rotten egg!"

\---------

Grandma's pie really was delicious. Raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, and cherry made the vibrant filling; simmered into a pot with sugar until it was a nice, jam consistency. Decorative homemade crust weaved into various rhombuses showcased the goodness inside. All of it was cooked to a golden-brown perfection.  
You never got tired of it, nor did you get tired watching her make it. The way her hands kneaded into the crust with practiced precision captivated your young, impressionable eyes. You would often mimic her movements into your pillow, even though you were a high school student now. You turned to the motions often as a form of comfort, mostly during thunderstorms. The filling was always hand-picked fresh from either your own garden or the local greenhouse's. You were proud to say that berry-picking was one of your most favorite activities to do with your grandma, despite how often you two have done it.

It was late in the evening now, if the clock was any indication. The sun was beginning to turn in (a phrase that you coined after learning the meaning of 'turn in') and the sky was about to sleep. You and your grandma sat on the couch, watching one of your favorite Disney movies.  
Monsters Inc. was a movie that was dear to your heart indeed. You watched it often as a kid. The concept of monsters coming to the world through your closet door had always filled you with the hope that maybe you were able to make a monster friend. In fact, you made sure you kept your closet door closed at all times since the first time you had watched it.  
You had fond memories of your ten-year-old Halloween night. Your cousin had made you Boo's dress, and you happily wore it trick-or-treating that night. In fact, you were so proud, that you had opted to shout "Boo!" instead of the customary Halloween greeting at every door you could find.

-

_"Boo?"_

_"Kitty!"_

-

That moment, without fail, had always made you smile. It was undeniable proof that Mike Wazowski would always be there for James P. Sullivan. Despite their relationship having some rocky steps, they were able to stay friends through it all, and you admired that to no end. In fact, it made you appreciate Monsters University more as a movie.  
As the credits were rolling, you gleefully listened to the sound of Billy Crystal and John Goodman's _If I Didn't Have You_. You considered singing it once for the school talent show, but ditched it in favor of another. After all, that song was made to be a duet, not a solo.

-

A light _ahem_ sounded through the air, your eyes drawn to the source. Your grandma was looking at you, a glint in her eyes.  
"You know dear, I think it's time for you to go back to sleep." The inquisitive look on your face gave away your confusion. "You were spacing out again, Sketch."  
Ah, right. You often spaced out when you were tired or getting tired.

"Ah, right. Um, there was something I wanted to ask you about the dreamcatcher," you said, scratching behind your neck.

"What is it, dearie?"

"The beads- they're. They're clear."

-

It was true. The beads on the dreamcatcher were indeed clear. Despite the piece being adorable, it was awfully bland for something that was usually colorful.  
The base itself did not exist, and it seemed the entire thing was haphazardly thrown together at the time of its creation. The net design was... off. You noticed that when she handed it to you. The design seemed balanced on top, but towards the end, it became chaotic and... strange. Not that strange was a bad thing, it was your metaphorical middle name! But strange for a dreamcatcher? You weren't exactly sure how to process the design.  
In fact, you were sure it wasn't even based off of a traditional dreamcatcher at all. It was certainly woven, yes, but it acted more like a spider web that would hang around an empty classroom, except for your window.

"It's not a dreamcatcher based on the Native Americans. Sorry, I should have told you that sooner. It is meant to protect you, yes, but it is based off of a spider's web." You blinked. You didn't expect a thought meant as a joke would be mostly accurate. "I _have_ told you about the importance of spiders in our family, yes?"

She has. When it was your thirteenth birthday, your grandma had took you to the side to explain the connection with your family and the arachnids.  
It is said that the oldest member of your family had lost his way in the forest. However, in the heart of the forest, your very-great-grandfather found a special spider that had guided him back home with help from the webs of its kin.  
Something told you there was more to that story, but you ignored that thought in favor of answering your grandma with a nod.

-

"Perfect! Now, the nightmares are nothing more than pests. You know this, right?" Her olden eyes watched as you nodded your head once more. "And spiders take care of pests for us, right?"

"Wait, so what you're trying to tell me is that the dreamcatcher is a home for a spider?

"Yes! The nightmares will fly into the dreamcatcher, and the spider will eat them! Now the spider has both a home and a source of food!"

You chuckled, smiling at the sweet lady. You highly doubted that any of that would be the case. However, it did look nice in your window.  
"Well, I'm going to go to bed. Night, Meemaw!"

-

Thoughts plagued your brain once your grandma was done wishing you a good night. Sure, the dreamcatcher is nice, but would it even work? It wasn't even shaped like a traditional dreamcatcher!  
Not that the shape mattered, though you do suppose that the Native American peoples were tired of having their ancestry romanticized for the entire world to see. Perhaps it was better that it was based off of your family history instead of another's.  
In fact, you supposed it was better. If bad dreams did indeed fly around your room, then the web-like net would offer more coverage than a circle, right? Not to insult the shape of traditional culture- maybe you should just stop thinking about it.

\------

Your pajamas, you had decided long ago, were easily your favorite part of your wardrobe. They were easy to wear and nobody cared if they had a hole in them. Not that anybody saw you in your pajamas in the first place.  
Despite them being clothes, you still thought in the back of your mind that it felt weird to be seen in pajamas. Maybe it was a sense of vulnerability? Yes, that was it. You were vulnerable in your pajamas! Maybe that's why the nightmares came to get you in the first place.

Shaking off the thought, you looked at yourself in the mirror adjacent to your bed. Just a casual t-shirt lumped in with bedtime shorts. No special designs or anything. Perfect! You laid down from your sitting position, turning your head to stare at the web in your window.  
Your grandma had hand-made it for you. At first, you didn't really like it, but the longer you looked at it the more you began to think it was pretty. Despite it being so simple, you loved it, clear beads and all.  
You were lucky you had your grandma.

Smiling, you closed your eyes. The lo-fi music and the scent of your candle lulled you to sleep.

-

There was no way you could have noticed the slight glimmer it gave once you were out.


End file.
